scholarly journals Drivers of ecological effectiveness in marine partially protected areas

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirta Zupan ◽  
Eliza Fragkopoulou ◽  
Joachim Claudet ◽  
Karim Erzini ◽  
Bárbara Horta e Costa ◽  
...  

The global number of marine protected areas grew exponentially in the last decade to meet international targets. Most of them are partially protected areas (PPAs). Yet, their ecological effectiveness remains unclear due to the high variability of allowed uses. Here, we performed the first global meta-analysis of PPAs following a new regulation-based classification system, to assess their ecological effectiveness. Overall, PPAs are effective relative to unprotected areas but allowed uses are the key feature determining their performance. Highly and moderately regulated PPAs provide higher biomass and abundance of commercial fish species, while weakly regulated PPAs do not exhibit differences relative to unprotected areas. Importantly, the effectiveness of some PPAs can be enhanced by the presence of an adjacent fully protected area (no-take zone). We conclude that limited and well-regulated uses in PPAs and the presence of an adjacent fully protected area confer ecological benefits, on which socio-economic advantages are derived.

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 352
Author(s):  
Mark Westera

Guidelines to marine protected areas is a collation of efforts from the IUCN, NOAA and Cardiff University, among others. It is aimed at managers and would be managers of marine parks, but will also be of use to anyone involved in the Marine Protected Area (MPA) process from conceptual planning to establishment, monitoring and management. Its broad application takes into account the hurdles that a manager is likely to encounter. There are nine sections, an introduction, an evaluation of the legal framework required to successfully establish MPAs, a discussion on dealing with all the relevant parties, involving communities and other stakeholders, site selection, planning and managing MPAs, zoning, evaluating economic aspect and financial sustainability, and finally a section on research, monitoring and review. Boxes are used throughout the text within each chapter to summarize important points and make for quick reference to the topic of that chapter.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda K. Pettersen ◽  
Ezequiel M. Marzinelli ◽  
Peter Steinberg ◽  
Melinda A. Coleman

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Gold ◽  
Joshua Sprague ◽  
David J. Kushner ◽  
Erick Zerecero ◽  
Paul H. Barber

AbstractMonitoring of marine protected areas (MPAs) is critical for marine ecosystem management, yet current protocols rely on SCUBA-based visual surveys that are costly and time consuming, limiting their scope and effectiveness. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a promising alternative for marine ecosystem monitoring, but more direct comparisons to visual surveys are needed to understand the strengths and limitations of each approach. This study compares fish communities inside and outside the Scorpion State Marine Reserve off Santa Cruz Island, CA using eDNA metabarcoding and underwater visual census surveys. Results from eDNA captured 76% (19/25) of fish species and 95% (19/20) of fish genera observed during pairwise underwater visual census. Species missed by eDNA were due to the inability of MiFish 12S barcodes to differentiate species of rockfishes (Sebastes, n=4) or low site occupancy rates of crevice-dwelling Lythrypnus gobies. However, eDNA detected an additional 30 fish species not recorded in paired visual surveys, but previously reported from prior visual surveys, highlighting the sensitivity of eDNA. Significant variation in eDNA signatures by location (50m) and site (~1000m) demonstrates the sensitivity of eDNA to address key questions such as community composition inside and outside MPAs. Interestingly, eDNA results recorded higher species richness outside the MPA while visual surveys observed the opposite pattern. This result is likely caused by swamping effects of high fish abundance in MPAs that reduce detection probabilities of pelagic and intertidal taxa. Results demonstrate the utility of eDNA metabarcoding for monitoring marine ecosystems, providing an important complementary tool to visual methods.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-855
Author(s):  
Mariano J. Aznar

Abstract Spain has just declared a new marine protected area in the Mediterranean. This follows a protective trend taken by Spanish authorities during the last decades and has permitted Spain to honour its international compromises under the Convention on Biological Diversity. It contributes to a framework of protected areas established under conventional regimes such as OSPAR, RAMSAR or EU Natura 2000. The new area protects a ‘cetacean corridor’ and will be inscribed in the list of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance under the Barcelona Convention regional framework.


2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin E. Easter ◽  
Mia S. Adreani ◽  
Scott L. Hamilton ◽  
Mark A. Steele ◽  
Stephen Pang ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document